The Missing Piece
by DreamPhoenix1016
Summary: Clara Davenport was a normal twenty four year old that had just graduated from college. She has been living with the Evers family and helps Jim and Sara with the real estate business, but how will they handle this new client? Especially when he seems haunted by the past.
1. Prologue

**_Author's Note:_** _Hello fellow readers! This is my first fanfiction so please go easy on me if I make some mistakes. I am open to any critics that you may have so please tell me what you think so that I can better my writing skills. If there's anything wrong with the grammar or writing please let me know so I can fix it! I hope that you enjoy and also feel free to comment or review._

 _Disclaimer: I do not own "The Haunted Mansion". It belongs to the rightful owners. The only thing I own is Clara and other Oc's mentioned._

* * *

 _ **Prologue**_

* * *

Toby Byrd was delivering mail to the people in his neighborhood on his bicycle like he did every Wednesday when it was summer. His satchel had been piled full with fliers, luckily the load lessened considerably since this morning.

As he went deeper into the little community he saw a path that leads to some nicer houses and road towards it. The majority of the homes he saw were expensive,fancy mansions.

When he arrived in a more rural part of the area he noticed that there was an eerie silence surrounding him. The trees were bare of any leaves and the grass was brown and brittle.

He couldn't help the feeling like something was watching his every move. Soon he came upon a large gate that separated a house from the outer part of the property.

He got off his bike quickly and set it on the ground, looking around he remembered the rumors about this place. It was said that many people died within the house and their souls still lingered there. No one had been in the house for years, it was as if overnight the place was abandoned. The whole thing looked run down and overgrown with weeds and other vegetation.

Walking up to the gate he contemplated whether he should climb over it and go explore the manor to see if the rumors were true. Before he could make a decision a huge gust of wind blew harshly in his face, he could have sworn he had heard a voice shouting at him to get out.

Startled, the boy stumbled onto the ground with a yelp before scrambling to his bike and taking off. As he sped down the dirt road he didn't notice that he had accidentally dropped his bag and all of its contents went flying.

When the boy was far from the mansion a figure of a man appeared by the gates glowing a soft blue color. The man was an older gentleman and wore a suit like a butler, he observed the grounds by the gate for any damage. The only thing he found were the papers that the boy had left behind in his haste to leave.

Among the papers was one particle flier that caught his attention. The flier in question was of a local real estate business with three pictures on it. One was a dark skinned man with a rather over exaggerated grin while the other was a woman, also of dark skin, with a more polite smile, whom he assumed was the man's wife.

The other picture was what had captured his attention, it was a woman with familiar features to him. The woman was an exact replica of the girl that he had once known when she lived in the mansion. The butler looked at the paper, the wheels in his head turning as he continued to stare at the photo. The longer he looked at it the more the plan he had in his head began to harden, the Master must be informed of this.


	2. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note:**_ _Here's_ _another chapter for you. I'd like to thank you for reading my story, it means a lot to me. I'd like to list a few people below that either reviewed or favorited it._ _Thank you guys so much for doing that it means the world to me that you took the time to review and favorite my story._

 ** _darkelf1996_**

 ** _sonia pantoja_**

 ** _MEGUMthePENGUIN_**

 ** _blushingpixie_**

 _Disclaimer:_ _I do not own "The Haunted Mansion". It belongs to the rightful owners. The only thing I own is Clara and other Oc's mentioned._

* * *

 _ **Chapter 1**_

Clara looked out at the people passing through the crowded mall. People flooded through the walkway, hastily trying to go from store to store. Since it was a summer afternoon it didn't surprise her.

You see she was a graduate of Louisiana State College and worked part time at the Sears mall as a cashier. She also was training to be a real estate agent under Jim and Sara Evers.

The Evers happened to be really good friends with both of her parents and came up with the idea that Clara could stay with them while she attended her dream college. Her parents, Anthony and Danielle Davenport, agree with the exception that Clara call them every once and awhile.

While living with the Evers she would help around the house by doing chores and babysitting their children Megan and Micheal. Since she is a real estate agent in training she helped Sara maintain the real estate business. She even had her face and name on the advertisement flier that they just sent out in the mail! Jim, on the other hand, has been going off on his own lately, trying to make as many sales on houses that he could. Yet Clara noticed that his careless behavior was starting to grate on Sara's nerves.

Clara arrived at the Evers home in the city of Inniswold at 3:30 p.m. in her silver 2000 Ford Taurus. After she turned off and locked the car she trudged to the door. Unlocking it she trekked up the stairs to the room she has been staying in for the past four years. Noise could be heard in the two rooms that belong to the Evers children, so she decided that she'd see how they were doing.

She went to the first room she came to which happened to be Megan's. A Destiny's Child poster was on the door and underneath it a piece of paper that read 'Megan'. Clara knocked a few times and waited for a response. She could hear shuffling as someone was getting up and walking around. The door swung open to reveal the slightly grumpy teen as she crossed her arms.

Megan regarded her with a bored expression. "Yes?" She asked.

"I just wanted to check and see how you were doing." Clara replied with a smile.

"Just fine." Megan retorted before going back into her room and shutting the door.

Clara just shook her head the smile still on her face. She knew that Megan wasn't being mean or hurtful on purpose, she just wants to be left alone.

She turned towards the direction of Micheal's room and stood by the threshold of the open door. Micheal was sitting in front of his computer playing a game with his back to the door. Clara grinned to herself as she crept up to him quietly. When she was right behind him she quickly grabbed his sides.

"AHH!" Micheal shouted in fear as he jumped in his seat. He whipped around to see who had frightened him. Clara laughed as she held her sides.

Micheal huffed, "That's not funny Clara!"

"I'm sorry! I just couldn't pass it up!" Clara wheezed through her laughs.

As her laughter started to die down she looked to see Micheal still sitting down with a deep frown on his face.

Clara walked over to him and gave him a hug. "Hey, I'm sorry Micheal, I didn't mean it."

Micheal looked up to her before his gaze went behind her and a look of terror crossed his face.

"Clara behind you! Look behind you!" Micheal yelled.

Clara gasped in surprise as she spun around but saw that there was nothing there. She turned back to Micheal with a look of confusion on her face which changed to shock as she took in Micheal snickering in his chair.

"Why you little creep!" She said with a laugh as she put him in a headlock and ruffled his hair. Micheal laughed as he begged for her to let him go. After a few minutes of playing around, she let him go with one more nudge to his head. Micheal eventually went back to playing his game as if nothing had happened.

Clara walked out of his room and finally entered her own. The room was a little bit small but that was alright with her. To the left there was a full sized bed against the wall with a nightstand beside it, across from the bed was a bookcase that was full with an array of different kinds of books. A window was between the bed and the bookcase. There was another door on the far right wall that was a small walk-in closet and a deck covered with papers sat to the right side of it. A dresser was placed in the middle of the back wall between the bookcase and closet.

She shut the door and walked over to the dresser and pulled out a cream knitted sweater with a black heart on it along with a pair of blue mottled super skinny jeans and a pair of white fuzzy socks with purple and blue cheetah print. She also grabbed a clean set of bra and panties and headed for the bathroom.

When she got there she closed and locked the door after her then set down her clothes on the counter. Turning on the shower she grabbed a towel from the closet and began to shed out of her work clothes

Clara hopped into the shower once it was the right temperature as she went about her daily cleaning routine. As she was washing her hair Clara reflected on the past few years, she always felt like something was missing in her life. She was happy with her friends and family, and she had enjoyed her time at school but when it came to relationships there was something that just didn't feel right. There were a few times where she had thought that there was a guy that was the one for her but she couldn't find it in herself to say the words 'I love you'. The men in question weren't bad at all, they were perfect in almost every way but it was as if she had already given her heart to someone else.

She snapped out of her thoughts and rushed through the rest of her shower before shutting it off and drying herself with the towel. The clothes that she picked out were thrown on. Grabbing a brush she combed through her hair, as she set it down she took some time to study herself.

Her dark brown hair fell to her waist in waves and stood out against her fair skin, her chocolate colored eyes stared back at her. Clara was about average build and a little on the short side. Sometimes people thought she was younger than her actual age which was twenty-four.

She unlocked the door and went downstairs to the laundry room to drop off her clothes. Once she did that she walked into the living room and sat down to watch some TV.

After a few episodes of _'Charmed'_ Clara heard the front door unlock, Sara Evers turned the corner to the living room and saw Clara sitting on the couch watch the television.

"Hi Clara, how was work?" Sara asked as she set down her purse on the coffee table.

Clara looked over at her, "It was okay, and how was your day?"

"Good. I sold one house to the Smith family and another to the McLeish's." Sara said.

"That's great! So did you have any plans for your anniversary tomorrow?" Clara asked with a mischievous look.

"Yes and don't give me that look, we're just going to eat dinner at a nice restaurant." Sara explained with a smirk.

Clara pouted, "You're always ruining my fun."

Sara gave her a doubtful look before heading towards the kitchen. "Well, I'm going to go start dinner."

"Okay, do you want me to help?" She asked.

"No, I'm alright." Sara replied as she rummaged around the kitchen.

Clara returned to her show as Sara started cooking, soon dinner was ready and Sara called down her children to come eat. The kids barreled down the stairs in no time and hurried towards the dining room. Clara turned off the TV and walked in the direction the Evers' children headed to. When she got there Micheal and Megan were already seated with their drinks and waiting for their food. Clara grabbed some silverware and placed them on the table; she looked over at Sara and asked, "Is Jim coming home soon?"

Sara continued plating the food without looking at her, "No he won't be here until later tonight."

Clara nodded to herself and put away the extra silverware she had brought out. She sighed to herself, it seemed like Jim has been missing out on a lot these past few months.

Dinner went by quickly as everyone talked about their day. As the children went back upstairs, Sara and Clara collected all the dishes and began washing and drying them in silence. After everything was back in its proper place the two women parted to go to their respective rooms.

"G'night Sara." Clara said with a small yawn.

"Goodnight, sleep well." Sara replied with a smile.

Clara returned the smile with one of her own. "You too."

Once she made it to her room she grabbed a gray cami shirt with an owl on it and a pair of gray shorts and switched clothes before crawling into bed. As she started to drift off to sleep she couldn't help but think of what tomorrow would bring.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Well, here's the second chapter. I'm so sorry for not updating I've been so busy with work. I work part time but with the way my schedule is, I now only have Friday and Sunday off but I'll try to manage my time better. I was also lacking the motivation to finish but I finally did it. I hope you enjoy! And thank you to those who favorite/follow my story, it means a lot.

* * *

 _ **Chapter 2**_

The day began way too early for Clara's liking, but she rolled out of bed anyway and started to get ready for work. Today she'd be working with Sara and getting some hands-on lessons with the clients. When she worked with Jim or Sara she always has to look her best, which meant a lot of dresses and business suits. She pulled out a royal blue dress that ended at the knees, a black waist belt and a pair of pumps that matched the dress. After she made up the bed she then laid her outfit on it.

Her makeup bag was pulled out from the purse she used the previous day and placed on the bed with everything else. Opening her closet she fished through a pile of purses scattered on the floor before settling with a small blue body bag.

Her pajamas were thrown off and into a dirty hamper and switched with the ones on the bed. Clara slipped into the dress and zipped up the back with ease. The belt fit snuggly against her waist and while the heels were still a bit uncomfortable to walk in, she has improved greatly from when she first started wearing them.

There was a sharp knock on the door before it opened and a head popped in through the crack. Sara looked in the room for Clara only to see that she was already dressed.

"Hey, I was just checking to see if you were up and getting ready." She said as she pushed back the door.

Clara nodded, "Yeah I just have to do my hair and makeup before I'll be ready."

"Alright I made breakfast for us and the kids so come and grab some when you're done. I'll be getting dressed in my room if you need me." Sara informed.

Clara nodded once more as she grabbed her makeup bag and walked with Sara out of the room. Sara went down the stairs towards her room while Clara headed to the bathroom. She shut the door behind her and she began to apply her makeup. She went for a more simple look so she put on some light foundation and blush. On her eyes was a brown eyeshadow, a bit of winged eyeliner and mascara. Her lips were painted with a nude color. She gave herself a once over before starting on her hair. Some of her bangs were left in front of her face while the rest was braided and wrapped to resemble a bun.

Once she put all the extra bobby pins and hair ties away she went back to her room to drop off her makeup bag. While she was there she transferred her driver's license, a few makeup products, business cards, a set of keys and her wallet into the purse that she was using and slipped it over her shoulder.

Clara tread down the stairs carefully so she wouldn't trip and walked into the kitchen. On the table were sausages, eggs, bacon and a small stack of pancakes. After putting some food on her plate, she got out the milk from the refrigerator and poured herself a glass. As soon as she finished her meal she took her dishes to the sink and quickly washed them and left it on the drying rack. Just as she walked into the living Sara came around the corner. "Hey, are you ready to go?" Sara asked.

"Yeah let's go." Clara said as she adjusted the strap of her purse.

They left the house making sure to lock it before they got in Sara's car and drove to meet the first clients.

 **...**

It was well after noon when the Coleman's arrived at another house that Jim picked out for them. They talked for a little bit outside before he unlocked the house and let them in. After a tour of the house, they made their way back to the living room.

"It's love, isn't it? Sometimes you can walk into a house and you can take one look around, and you just know. And you say 'This is for me.' " Jim said.

Mrs. Coleman was looking out of a window by the fireplace. "I think it's perfect, it's just what we've been looking for." She said brightly.

Her husband, however, huffed, "There aren't enough plugs!"

"Hey, Mr. Coleman, now. That place that I showed you over on Sycamore street was absolutely loaded with plugs." Jim said trying to fix the situation.

"That's right. There were plenty." Mrs. Coleman retorted.

He shook his head, "Yes but the steps were too high. When we get older, we could trip on them."

Jim groaned in his head, this man was just so difficult to please.

"Every house we look at you find something to pick about." His wife said irritated.

"I just know what I like." He said with a sigh.

"Well, would you like a divorce? 'Cause I'll bring it." She snapped.

Stepping in to intervene Jim tried to calm down the arguing couple, " Hey, hey. There's no need for that. I'm gonna find this house for you. I am totally committed to finding the perfect house for you. I don't care how long it takes. Because at Evers & Evers, we want you to be happy forever and evers." He said with a grin.

Suddenly his phone began to ring, "Oh, excuse me just one second, let me take this call. I am so sorry."

He pulled out his phone from inside his coat pocket and answered it. "Hello. Evers & Evers Real Estate. Jim Evers speaking."

"Hey, honey. How's it going? Do they like the house?" Sara asked over her BlueTooth headset.

Remembering that the clients were still with him, he responded using the communication method that he and Sara made so they wouldn't disturb their clients, on the plus side it helps to give the more stubborn customers an extra push to buy a house.

"Yes, this house is still available." Jim said. The Coleman's looked over at him slightly flabbergasted.

"Oh, I knew it. I told you they were lookie-lous." Sara said.

The Coleman's were still staring at him stunned. Jim turned to them and quickly replied, "It's another interested party. Excuse me for just a second." Then he walked a little ways away from them.

"Listen, I'm on my way home to get ready for dinner. I'm really looking forward to tonight." She said trying not to laugh as Clara was making kissy faces at her from the passenger seat.

"Well, are you pre-approved?" Jim asked.

"Yeah, the reservation is at seven. So don't be late." Sara reminded him.

He looked down at his watch to check the time before responding, "Well, seven sounds great. Let's get together at seven so we can go over on your offer."

"Okay Honey, I'll see you later." Sara said as she hung up.

Mrs. Coleman smacked her husband with the newspaper she had folded under her arm,"See what you did?" She hissed before looking over to Jim.

"We love the house!" She shouted.

Jim whipped around quickly when she called out, his cell phone still pressed against his ear.

"We do, we love it." She said happily while her husband stood beside her dejectedly.

Jim closed his phone and slipped it into his pocket. "Well, Mrs. Coleman taking that into consideration there's only one thing left to do." After he said this he pulled out a pen from within his coat.

"Let's sign some papers."

 **...**

Clara glanced at the clock on her nightstand to see it was past nine and wondered how Jim and Sara's anniversary dinner was going. She was sitting up in her room in her pajamas reading a book to pass the time. In all honesty, she didn't think that Jim would remember but thankfully he did. She continued reading and was almost done when she heard a car park into the driveway. There was noise coming from downstair and she could make out Sara and Jim's voice. A few moments passed and someone came thundering up the stairs.

"Megan and Micheal, big family adventure!" Jim shouted as he climbed the steps. Megan opened her door to see what the commotion was about.

Jim saw that Micheal didn't leave his room so he called out to him, "Hey! Micheal Jordan Evers!"

Suddenly Micheal came running out of his room screaming and went over to his father and pointed towards his room.

Jim tried to calm him down so he could figure out what was going on. "Hey! Whoa,whoa, what's going on? What is it?"

Micheal was still pointing at his room and stuttered over his words, "D-dad! Th-there's a...there's a spider in my room!"

Jim didn't quite catch what his son had said."There's a what?"

This time, Micheal spoke a bit more clearly so his dad could hear him, "There's a spider in my room, he's on the window."

Jim looked down at Micheal with exasperation, "Why didn't you kill it?"

Micheal stared at him with a look of disbelief. "That's a big spider!"

Jim simply took his son by the hand and walked into his room. "Come on, now, it's just a spider. How big could it possibly be?"

He looked over to the window and saw the spider sitting there. "What the..? Man, with the way you were acting, you would have thought it was Mothra. It's just a spider. You're making a big deal out of nothing."

Jim lead Micheal to the window where the spider was and grabbed a magazine that was laying on his desk. "Alright Micheal, I'm going to show you how to kill a spider the most efficient way. Now you gotta get yourself a good magazine, roll it nice and tight, have a good grip on it and go in for a side swing."

He rolled up the magazine and handed it to his son, "Go on and whack that spider."

Micheal shook his head, " I don't want to whack it, Dad. I'm scared of spiders!"

"Listen, Micheal, you're going to be facing spiders your whole life." His father said.

Micheal looked at him with a twinge of fear, "I am?"

Jim sighed and tried to correct himself, " No, what I mean is that you should never be afraid of anything. When people know they'll use it against you. I'm not afraid of anything so you shouldn't be either. You're my son and you can do anything, even kill a spider"

"Dad, I can't do it." He said as he looked at the spider.

"Yes, you can. I know you can." Jim said encouragingly.

Micheal shook his head furiously, "I can't kill it! I can't crush it! I can't!"

Suddenly Megan came into the room, snatched to the magazine from Micheal and hit the spider with it. Jim and Micheal jumped at the loud sound, Megan then turned to her father and handed him back the magazine. "There, happy?" She said sarcastically.

Jim frowned at his daughter as she started to walk away. "No, I'm not happy I was trying to help Micheal get over his fear of spiders!" Megan continued walking away and mumbled something under her breath.

Clara, who had listened to the whole exchange, went downstairs to talk to Sara to see how dinner went. When she got to the last step she heard the phone ringing and Sara quickly answered it. Clara waited for Sara to finish talking with whoever was on the phone. From the way Sara was talking she assumed that it was a potential client. Sara took a pen and paper by the phone and started writing something down after she finished she ripped off the paper and held it in her hand.

"Okay, great." Sara said to the person. Clara could faintly hear the person on the other line.

"It is an old house, Mrs. Ever and my employer is anxious to move on. Would it be possible for you and your assistant to come _alone_ to discuss the situation?"

Clara tilted her head in confusion, why did he want just her and Sara to come? It didn't make any sense for her to be so specifically needed.

"I'm sorry but my husband, Clara and I work as a team." Sara replied.

"The master does not usually allow visitors. However, he thought that you and Miss Davenport have a trustworthy face. Your husband, on the other hand, he felt differently." He explained.

"Oh, you got our flyer." Sara said.

"The master was hoping to meet with you tomorrow evening."

"I'm sorry but I can't, I already have plans that can't be broken." Sara told him.

Clara jumped when she hear someone clapping their hands behind her. She turned and saw Jim moving around her to get Sara's attention.

"Excuse me for a moment." She said before covering the phone with her hand.

"Who is that?" Jim whispered.

"It's someone calling about selling a house." Sara told him.

"Well, where is it?" Jim asked.

Sara showed him the paper where she wrote the address. Jim looked at it and his eyes widened when he realized where the house was located at.

"Sara, do you know where this place is?" He asked excitedly. Sara shook her head wondering what has him so excited.

"The houses there are huge multi-million dollar mansions. This could be a big step in our career!" He explained.

"But what about our family adventure?" She asked as the corner of her lips dipped down.

Jim looked down for a moment, deep in thought trying to find a solution. "Well how about we swing by the place, introduce ourselves,settle on a date to come back and do some more business then. How about that?"

Sara's frown deepened but she nodded her head, "Alright, but we're only stopping by to introduce ourselves nothing more. Okay?"

Jim's face brightened as he nodded frantically. "Yes, yes of course!"

Sara uncovered the mouthpiece of the phone, "Hello Mr. Ramsley? I believe that we will be able to come by the home briefly tomorrow evening and meet your employer, then we can set an appointment for a more in-depth meeting."

"Thank you, Madam, my master is most grateful. I do apologize for the abruptness of the request but the master is quite eager. How soon would you be able to come to the manor?"

"Does five p.m. sound alright?" Sara asked.

"Wonderful, we shall expect to see you tomorrow. Good night, Madam." With that being said Sara hung up the phone and placed it back on the receiver.

Jim looked at Sara with excitement in his eyes, "Sara I can't believe this, this is huge! This will put us in a whole new league."

Clara decided to make her presence known, "Sorry to interrupt but if we are going on a family adventure then we'll need to pack some bags."

"She's right, I'll go tell the kids." Sara said as she started to climbed up the stairs.

Once she left Jim looked over at Cara teasingly, "Hey, what's all this 'we' stuff? Who said that you're going?"

"Of course I'm going. What's a family adventure without me?" Clara declared as she put her hands on her hips.

"A peaceful one." Jim joked.

Clara fake gasped, "Why- I never! Jim Evers, you are a complete and utter jerk!"

They both burst into a fit of laughter. Once Jim could control his laughter he looked back to Clara, "Well, I'm going to start packing."

"Yeah, same here. Night Jim." Clara said.

"Good night Clara." Jim replied.

Clara entered her room and began packing everything she would need. Once she was done she place her suitcase by the door. Then she crawled into bed, as she lay there she let her mind wonder. Soon her eyes became heavy and she slipped into a deep sleep.


	4. Chapter 3

**Clara's P.O.V**

Morning came for the Evers household and after we finished eating breakfast we threw our suitcases into the trunk of the car and piled in. I sat between Megan and Micheal in the backseat while Sara sat in the passenger seat with Jim driving. As we headed down the road Jim decided to tell the children about the mansion that we were going to visit. The children were less than thrilled about the news.

"It's just a little detour." Jim said to cheer up his kids.

Megan groaned. "How long is it gonna take?"

"No more than twenty minutes. Twenty minutes tops. You two should be excited. You finally get to see Mommy and Daddy in real-estate action." Jim replied.

I perked up in my seat. "What about me? Aren't I important too?"

"No."

I pouted playfully before sticking out my tongue and folded my arms across my chest and slumped back in the seat as the children giggled. After an hour and a half we finally arrived at the manor, a large and worn down iron gate greeted us.

"Alright, here it is." Jim stated.

I leaned forward in awe, "Wow."

"Wow is right. Just look at that gate." Jim said. We waited in the car for a few minutes before Jim honked the horn a few times to get someone's attention.

Jim looked over at Sara. "Didn't they know we were coming?"

"Of course they knew." Sara stated blandly.

"Maybe there's a call box?" Megan supplied.

Jim nodded before rolling down his window and calling out, "Hello the Evers from Ever and Evers Real Estate are here!" We sat there for a few more minutes but no one replied or came outside.

"No ones answering. Now I'm going to get mud on my brand new shoes." Jim grumbled.

Sara and Jim got out of the car and I quickly joined them, we walked up to the gate and looked at the house. I looked down and saw that the gate had chains wrapped around it and that it was secured by a large lock.

"Hey, how are we supposed to get in?" I asked.

"Well if you can give me a boost, I'll climb over and go around towards the back. They're probably old, we'll surprise them." Jim said jokingly.

"You'll probably give them a heart attack! Come on we should go, it's getting late." Sara said as she started walking toward the car. Jim and I moved to follow her but stopped when we heard a loud screech come from behind us. We turned around to see that the creaking metal gate had begun to slowly open to allow us in.

"Alright! Now we're in business." Jim exclaimed as he clapped his hands. He and Sara continued to walk to the car as I paused to look at the gate in confusion.

' _I could have sworn that the lock and chains were wrapped around the gate_. _Maybe the lock wasn't locked in the first place and when the gate opened the chains just slipped right off?'_ I thought.

I shook my head as I hurried back to the car and got in.

As Jim drove up the winding driveway to the mansion, I saw that there was a dark, murky lake that took up most of the front yard. I looked closer and saw that the lake was connected to a river. Once we finally made it to the front entrance everyone stepped out of the car.

"Wow, Bob Vila would have a field day with this place." Jim said as he looked around.

Micheal looked over at me and asked, "Who's Bob Vila?"

"Some guy on tv that does home improvements." I said with a shrug. He nodded and closed the door, then the both of us walked around the car towards Jim. Megan slammed the car door shut a little too hard, making Jim whirl around.

"Hey, don't slam the door like that. It's very sensitive." He said.

Megan looked at him with a dull expression, "It's a just a car, Dad."

Jim jumped to defend himself, "Aha! It's not _just_ a car, it's a very delicate piece of machinery." He then turned and addressed the car like it had been personally offended, "She didn't mean what she just said. She didn't mean it."

Megan rolled her eyes at her father's antics. I was looking at the mansion during the exchange when I noticed a crow perched on top of an old weather vane shaped like a sailing ship on the roof. For some odd reason the bird gave me an uneasy feeling, like it was watching me intently. I shook it off before replying to Jim, "Alright Jim, just remember you're already married and you can't marry a car!" Jim gave me an indignant look.

"Come on, let's see what's around back." Sara said trying to change the subject.

As we were walking towards the back of the house, the children started complaining about how hungry they were. Jim assured them that it would only take twenty minutes.

"Hey, Dad, when we get to the lake, can I go to that pizza shop where I ate that whole pizza pie. And then when we got to the cabin, I threw up and you could still see the pepperoni chunks in it? Can we go there?" Micheal asked as we walked by a conservatory. Sara and Megan stopped to take a look inside of it while we went further on ahead of them. However I don't think either of them had noticed what was back here or they wouldn't still be talking about food.

"Yeah, we can go there if we can avoid a repeat performance." Jim replied looking at his son.

"Uhh...Jim?" I called out hesitantly.

Jim looked over at me, "What is it?"

I simply pointed towards the backyard. He furrowed his brows before turning to see what I was pointing at. In the yard was a huge cemetery with rows and rows of tombstones, statues and monuments.

"Wow...Now that's something you don't see everyday." Jim stated.

"No kidding." I replied. I looked at the tombstones that stretched into the farthest parts of the property

 _'They must have had this place for a long time, there's so many graves.'_

Megan came up beside us to see what we were talking about, " Oh. My. God. Dead people?!"

"Hey, honey, you know they have dead people in the backyard?" Jim said to his wife.

Sara walked over to where we were all standing, looking at the cemetery. "Some people have swimming pools. Some people have private cemeteries, it happens."

Megan turned to her father, "You're going to sell a house with this?" She gestured to the cemetery.

"You mean this historical, sprawling manor with spacious grounds?" Jim replied not skipping a beat.

"Hey, that's good. We should put that one the listing." Sara said.

"Sure, you do that. But when weird stuff starts happening and we have some old, angry spirit coming after us I'm blaming you two." I stated pointing at them.

Micheal looked around worriedly, "This place isn't haunted, is it?"

"Maybe, maybe not. I just know that if it is then I don't want to be the one who upset it." I replied.

Suddenly lightning cracked across the sky and the dark clouds released a heavy rain above us in seconds. We made a run for the front door as we tried to avoid getting soaked, luckily there was an awning above the door that shielded us from the rain.

"Do you think it's gonna stop?" Megan asked.

"Oh, I hope it's not raining at the lake." Sara said as Jim knocked on the door.

"Okay, you kids know when you're at work with Mommy and Daddy, you're always on your best behavior, right?" Jim asked his children, they nodded their heads.

As we stood there waiting for an answer, we took a closer look at the door. "Wow, look at these knocker." Jim said as he gestured to the door.

 _'They look pretty old, the design looks kind of reminds me of a lion.'_ I noted.

Jim knocked a few more times, "Hello, Evers Real Estate!"

Finally after a few moments the door slowly opened with a creak. We looked inside and saw that there wasn't anyone there as we hesitantly stepped into the house. Sara, Jim and I took a moment to quickly fix our hair and clothes before continuing forward.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" Jim asked. When no one answered he called out again, "Hello, it's the Evers from Evers and Evers Real Estate!"

"Have you ever seen anything like this?" Sara asked as she looked around the foyer.

"Never, Sara this could definitely put us in a whole new league." Jim replied.

I nodded in agreement as I took in my surroundings and the sheer amount of dust and cobwebs. I couldn't help but feel like this place was familiar to me somehow. There was a curved double staircase with a dark hallway between it. In front of the hallway to the left stood a bust of man and on the right was a rectangular table with a dying plant and candelabra on it. At the top of the entryway of the staircase was a large 13 hour clock. On either side of the clock was a brass figure of a woman with one of her arms raised above her head and holding a candelabra. At the bottom of each banister was a set of lamp like sconces which helped illuminate the room. When I turned around there were two tall floor candelabras on either side other the front door. In fact all around the room there were lit candelabras, some attached to the walls others sitting on tables. Heck there was even a chandelier with candles on it!

If there was no electricity then that would explain why there are so many candles, however that would mean a lot more work for us if we managed to buy and sell this place. Though the feeling I got just looking around made me feel oddly nostalgic.

Megan wrinkled her nose in disgust once she caught a whiff of the smell in the room, "It smells like grandma's house."

"Worse, it smells like grandma." Micheal retorted with a smirk.

"It's just a little bit dusty. We can get a cleaning crew to help and shine it up. This place will be sparkling from top to bottom." Jim told his children.

Micheal looked over at one of the cobwebs in a corner and happened to notice a spider on it. "Mom, this place was spiders." He said, fear creeping into his voice as he backed into his mothers' side and she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

A screeching sound was heard from down the hallway between the staircase and as we turned there was a flash of lightning that brightened the hallway revealing an old man walking towards them. His hair was a stark white with a receding hairline and the thin stands seemed to go in every direction. Deep sunken eyes stared ahead of him seemingly unseeing of anything. He walked with perfect posture however it seemed slightly strange with his arms staying glued to his side the entire time. The suit he wore was navy blue with golden buttons and some gold trim along the collar, the waist coat appeared to be a very dark yellow with brown strips and that also had gold buttons. The gloves he wore were as white as his hair, his shoes looked black as night and shined under the light.

Once he reached the end of the hallway he stopped, he glanced briefly at all of us with his piercing eyes. When he got to me, I couldn't help the slight shudder I felt under his gaze. There was something about him that unnerved me, though I had no idea why. Perhaps it was simply had to do with the storm and the fact I was in a strange place that had me feeling so on edge.

"Sara Evers?" He asked with a raspy voice.

Sara stepped forward a little, "Yes, I'm Sara."

"My name is Ramsley." He introduced rolling the 'r' in his name slightly.

There was a second of awkward silence before Jim decided to break it by introducing himself with a bright smile. "Hello Ramsley. I'm Jim Evers from Evers & Evers Real Estate at your service." He held out his hand to Ramsley.

Ramsley did not make a move to accept Jim's hand, "We were not expecting...others."

A bit disheartened by his reaction or lack thereof Jim slowly dropped his hand back to his side.

Sara decided to quickly step in, "Yes, I'm sorry but we were on our way out of town."

Bouncing back from the more than off putting introduction Jim took back the lead, "Yes, and when we learned of the enormity and complexity of your unique estate we wanted you to have the full commitment of our company's resources. With Ever's & Ever's we want you to be happy forevers and evers, please accept this water proof calendar as a small token of our appreciation." As he was talking he beckoned for us to come forward to stand with him. He fished into the inside of his coat and pulled out said calendar and held it out to Ramsley.

The other man looked at it for a second before he reluctantly accepted it. "Very well, we shall have to place other settings." Ramsley informed us as he turned back down the hallway he had come from.

We all looked at each other in confusion as we followed him before Jim spoke up, "What do you have the settings for?"

"Master Gracey wishes to discuss his affairs over dinner." Ramsley said.

"Oh I'm sorry but I'm afraid we already have plans." Sara told him before she turned to Jim.

"Honey, we can't stay for dinner." She whispered.

"Yes, but we mustn't be rude, darling. Besides the children said that they were hungry." Jim replied.

Megan spoke up, "What about our big family adventure?"

"Yeah, Dad!" Micheal exclaimed.

"We'll just have some soup and then we'll leave okay?" Jim said.

As we walked down the hall I glanced at each suit of armor admirably, I wondered how someone could acquire such antiquities. However they gave off an eerie feeling that made me feel like I was being watched though I suspect that I wasn't the only one who felt that way and I could've sworn that it look like one of them _moved_.

Finally we reached the end of the hallway and Ramsley opened the doors which he then walked through and lead us into a luxurious dining room. There was a large, lit fireplace on the other side of the wall directly in front of the door we just exited. In the center of the room was a long dining table which had fine china, silverware and napkins laid out perfectly. There were four candelabras set spaciously along the table to provide more light. The chairs had high back rests and it seemed it was made out of the same wood as the table. The upholstery of the chairs were exquisite, the dark color and the gold ran well together. Along the walls there were even more sconces and long windows alongside the same wall as the fireplace. It appeared that there was also a chandelier in this room hanging right over the table.

As we drank it all in I couldn't help but comment on it, "This is absolutely beautiful, Ramsley!"

Ramsley dipped his head in acknowledgement, secretly pleased that someone took notice his work. "Thank you, Miss."

"Yeah, hey Megan how would you like to eat like this every day?" Jim asked his daughter. Megan apparently didn't like the idea very much and simply rolled her eyes.

"The Master will be with you shortly." Ramsley announced.

"Thank you, very much." I said appreciatively. Ramsley nodded once more before walking off.

I decided to walk over to the fireplace to get a better look, "Have you ever seen a fireplace this amazing?" I asked.

"It's incredible." Sara replied as she joined me.

"Yeah, we could have one heck of a wienie roast on that thing, huh?" Jim said jokingly.

"Seriously, just look at it!" I exclaimed before gesturing to the fireplace. "There's so many details, it's stunning. I've never seen anything like it before."

"Haven't you?" A smooth voice with a British accent called out before another crash of thunder was heard.

We all jumped and turned around to face this new voice, he was standing several feet away next to one of the windows and because of the lightning it illuminated his face. He appeared to be in his late twenties and was dressed in a dark navy blue suit with a silk waist coat and white dress shirt. From where I stood I still couldn't quite make out his features but the way he held himself gave off an air of confidence and pride. Especially with his hands behind his back and perfectly straight posture.

"My grandfather spared no expense when he built this mansion." He informed us.

Jim stepped forward, "Well, your grandfather had very good taste in tchotchkes! I'm Jim Evers from Evers & Evers Real Estate. Charmed to make your acquaintance." He introduced himself as he held out his hand.

"Edward. Edward Gracey." The man introduced with a bow of his head.

Jim lowered his rejected hand for the second time that evening.

"Uh, this is my wife, Sara." Jim said as he gestured to Sara to come closer.

When she stood next to Jim she spoke, "It's very nice to meet you Mr. Gracey."

"Likewise." He said bowing his head.

"And these are our children, our daughter Megan and our son Micheal." Sara continued as she beckoned her children over to stand in front of her.

"You have very beautiful children, Mrs. Evers." Mr. Gracey complimented.

I was standing off to the side when Mr. Gracey looked at me inquisitively, "And who is this young lady?"

"This is Clara Davenport, she's a friend of the family." Sara introduced as I walked closer to the man. Now that I was closer I could see his face better and I momentarily forgot how to breath. He was extremely handsome, with dark brown hair that was almost black. Warm russet brown eyes stared back at me between thick lashes. His cheekbones were high and well defined within his oval face.

Once I snapped out of my daze I dipped my head in greeting, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

When I looked back up I saw that Mr. Gracey was gazing at me with a gentle smile and I tried my best not to blush.

"The pleasure is all mine." He replied gently.

I gave a small smile in return before Ramsley interrupted us, "Children, Madam, Miss."

Edward smiled once more before he gestured to the table with a smooth motion of his arm, "Please sit."


End file.
